New York Government Demands Tech Companies Create A 'Kill Switch' For Stolen Smartphones

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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is leading the charge in an effort to get smartphone manufacturers to implement some sort of "kill switch" to render electronics useless if stolen, reports the AP.

Apparently, one in three robberies in the United States involves a stolen smartphone, so lawmakers are eager to jump on the problem and elicit help from tech manufacturers.

Schneiderman thinks he has a solution in the Secure Our Smartphones Initiative, a coalition of people from a variety of backgrounds - politics, law enforcement, tech - that exists to pressure tech companies into fighting the problem of phone theft.

Apple introduced such a kill switch feature in its upcoming iPhone operating system, iOS 7, this week. If your phone is stolen (or otherwise goes missing), you can remotely activate an option that would require someone to enter the correct Apple ID and password into your phone before gaining access.

Of course your password should be strong and unique enough that it can't be guessed.

The AP mentions that this is akin to canceling a stolen credit card. With smartphone theft proving to be such a pervasive problem, it's surprising we haven't seen a solution like this until now.